I just finished reading a book I would highly recommend.  Three Cups of Tea is an enjoyable read about the real-life adventures of Greg Mortenson in the tribal area of Pakistan, building schools.  The book came out in 2006, quickly became a best-sellers because of its compelling story, and in now readily available in paperback or at the library.  In late 2009 Stones into Schools, his second book, came out and continues the story of his work as it moved into Afghanistan.  The one person I know who has read it said it was every bit as exciting as the first one, which she found amazing.

One thing that makes the books so timely is the fact that Afghanistan and Pakistan are so much in our news with the “War in Terror”, and the areas he worked in are the very rugged areas in the high Himalaya Mountains that seem most susceptible to recruiting and harboring anti-American terrorists.  The people and the world in which they live seems remote to our experience in every way, but the book helps us see the human values and aspirations of most of these people are not that different fromour own.  Mortenson’s book is now required reading for American military personnel assigned to Afghanistan to help our soldiers understand the area in which they are serving.  The approach that Mortenson pioneered, beginning nearly a decade before 9-11, has helped to shaped a new strategy of our forces and diplomatic efforts.  While there may be some people who are so intractable in their anti-Western positions and hell-bent on violence that searching them down and stopping them by whatever means may be the only way to end their evil deeds, they are an small percentage of the populations even in these areas.  While we may have to fight them, we can learn to work with the vast majority of these people and together forge a peaceful path toward development,  justice and mutual respect.  It is in some ways the kind of change in strategy that made a difference in Iraq.

Beyond this, what makes the book and Mortenson so interesting is the power of human relations when people meet one another honestly, respectfully on the common ground of their humanity.  In this setting people can respond in compassion to the needs of another with hospitality and generosity in a way that can naturally become a mutual experience of up-building and truly loving relationships.  The people of one remote village saved ”Dr. Greg” by nursing him back to life when he wandered into their villiage lost and exhausted after a failed 2-month adventure to try to scale the second highest mountain in the world.  Dr. Greg vowed to repay them by meeting a need they saw as most pressing:  having a school to educate their boys and girls.  Out of that has come a major movement that is changing history.

In the why and how of this story I see a profoundly spiritual side.  In fact, I would say the book illustrates lived-out Christianity.  Jesus met people in just the way the village leader of Askope responded to Mortenson–and as he later responded to the village.  The interactions were based on simple respect, caring and the honoring of the God-given humanity of another, the same way Jesus responding to Zacchaeus, the Samaritan women at the well, and so many others in the Gospel narration. 

The book makes me think not only about far-away people and places but also about what I am doing in my own setting with the people I may meet by chance to see the Christ in them and let the Christ in me respond to them.  I am well aware I have a lot of room to grow in that, but it is the direction in which I want my life to be headed–more importantly the direction in which I think God wants me headed.

Pastor Joe Easley

January 8, 2010

You may have noticed the “Community Comment” on the editorial page of Thursday’s Courier and Press.  There were actually 26 signers, mostly pastors and some spiritual leaders from other religious communities, but somehow the second page of the article got lost and so the 14 names on it did not make the paper.  I chose to sign as Rev. Joseph N. Easley, because I wanted it to be clear that I was signing as an individual and not representing the congregation, which had not seen the statement. 

I also recognize not all Central members might agree on this issue.  It is not required that we all agree nor that members automatically agree with their pastor.  What is important as “the Body of Christ” is that we respect each other as “members one of another” and that we seek to “grow into Christ, who is the head of the Body.”  We all seek to be taught and guided by God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our belief and practice, including in our participation on the public arena.  This is an issue on which I felt my understanding of faith compelled me to speak out.

Let me briefly say why I believe “Health care is a moral imperative.”  God created us ”from the dust of the earth” and consistently shows a concern for our physical bodies.  Jesus had compassion on those who were ill, whether the illness was physical, mental,  emotional, relational or spiritual.  For this reason he healed many.  He was followed in this by his first century followers as seen in Acts and many of the letters of the New Testament.  The view of the Church in the second and third centuries was often surprising positive–even with the suspicion and sometimes active persecution Christians experienced–because it had a reputation for compassion toward all people.  In ancient and medieval times healing was often sought and experienced in Christian holy persons and holy sites.  In the 19th and 20th centuries, the tradition of concern for healing was revived as many churches founded hospitals.  Even today it is often churches that provide the only medical centers in many areas of poverty, here and especially in the third world.  Healing is deeply rooted in scripture and tradition.  Mercy and compassion are virtues that prevade the Bible and are embodied in Jesus. 

Likewise, key in the biblical story, including the ministry of Jesus, is justice.  By definition justice is an equal regard for all people.  Scripture shows God with a abiding concern for upholding the basic rights of all, especially of those least able to contend for their own rights–the poor, those without power or influence, and others who may be marginalized by society.  These values lead me to say it is faithful and important to work and speak for adequate health care for all people.  

I think that one of the things that has gotten lost in the current discussion about healthcare is the essential moral issue with which we should begin.  Indeed there are many different ways to provide the care, and it is quite appropriate to debate which is the best–however we may define “best”–way to provide this.  However, unless we begin with the compelling reason to address this–values rooted deeply in Christians faith, as well as in the other great faith traditions and in the American ideals–we will tend to lapse into policitcal rhetoric, partisan power plays and protection of the self-interest of the various stakeholders in the present system.  Indeed, this is where we seem to be.  I would like to help refocus the national debate on the “moral imperative” for at least some basic level of decent, affordable, effective and efficient health care for all Americans.  From a common affirmation that our nation has a moral obligation to see that such care is available to all, we could begin to discuss and debate the way to provide it, the level of care to guarantee and the way to finance such care.  The specificis of these issues will remain challenging, but we can at least keep our eye on the goal and the moral and faith basis for it.

A week ago Sunday at the 10:30 service I felt really good about the service and my sermon.  There had been a minor problem with the bulletin.  When I worked up the worship order for that day on my computer, I was working with the prior week’s order I had saved, and I just changing the elements that needed that.  I had to take out the 3rd grade Bible presentation and the baptism from October 11 and add back the opening prayer and children’s time.   The only problem was that I reversed the order of what I added, so that instead of the opening prayer prayer being right after the opening hymn, as usual and as intended, the children’s time was placed between these, making for an awkward flow.  I didn’t catch this wrong order when I proofed what Lisa had put together.  Neither she nor the other person proofreading it questioned it either.  If they noticed it, they probably just thought the pastor is trying something new. 

Fortunately, I noticed the error, when I was marking the bulletin for myself, so before worship I had told Mike to hold off on starting the children’s time until after the prayer and told the liturgist Evelyth Wright of the error and asked her to have the congregation remain standing after the hymn and join in praying the collect.  I think people were a little confused that morning, some wondering why wehad a strange order in the bulletin and others, why the liturgist jumped ahead to the prayer before the children’s time instead of following the printed order.  Still, it was only a minor glitch, that I am sure people quickly forgot as we continued in worship.  Mike did well with the children, Janet Weyer from the Youth Home spoke effectively about our shared mission there, and five of our children sang with the Chancel Choir on the anthem.  With the good message of the anthem and the fact that both kids and adults sang well, it was inspiring to get up and preach after them.  I felt engaged with the message all the while I was speaking, the sermon flowed especially well, and it seemed to be connecting well with people, as I thought I experienced an unusually strong amount of attention and eye contact and through the sermon. 

As always, I enjoyed greeting people after the service.  Midway through this, when there was a kind of lull in the line, Evelyth came up to me and asked if she had done something wrong that morning.  I thought it had been a nearly perfect service and did not remember any slip-ups, so I said, “No.  I thought you did fine.  What did you think might have been wrong?”  She said, “Well I wasn’t sure where you wanted me to read the scripture.  Only then–5 minutes after the service–did I realize that I had jumped up after the anthem to say how inspiring it had been and went directly into the sermon, instead of letting Evelyth read the scripture first.  People may have wondered why we skipped that, and it may have seemed especially strange that during the sermon I talked about what what Jesus had said as he sent out the disciples on their mission in the Gospel of Luke, “as we had heard.”  Except, only I had heard the gospel reading, in my own mind, and everyone else probably wondered what it said and why Evelyth hadn’t read it.  That may have accounted for the unusually high level of attention that morning:  people were wondering what was going to happen–or not happen–next! 

I slapped my forehead and reassured Evelyth that it was my mistake and not hers.  We both got a laugh out of it.  A little later that afternoon I thought this would be perfect to share in my first blog.  I could confess that both the bulletin disorder and leaving out the scripture reading were my errors, but in my defense I could say, “at least I didn’t forget the offering.”  Only this week at Bible Study did I hear the rest of the story from Evelyth and the others in it who had been there of how, when she thought I was going to set back down, she had started to get up to read, only to sink back down when I kept going.  I guess this happened 2 or 3 times.  No wonder everyone was paying such rapt attention during the sermon, wondering what was going to occur. 

There would have been a time, when I felt horrible about my errors at least the rest of the day.  I celebrate that I have interalized enough of God’s grace to be able to laugh when I mess up.  Two careless, but uninteded errors. did not take away God’s love, mean others would not forgive the mistake, nor override the fact that it had been a good service: the anthem was inspiring, my sermon was effective, and we worshipped, which was what we were there for.  A little bit of humor may have even added to the morning.

Maybe this was partly what Martin Luther meant, when he said, “Go, and sin bravely!”  It is better to be in the spirit moment and trying to serve God, even though we may mess up occassionally along the way, than it is the hang back lest we make a mistake.    I agree with Luther that God’s grace, when received and appropriated, sets us free from excessive fear of sin and death to live in joyous service of God.  God can handle the human foibles, which will always be true for us in this life, but God wants us to be brave in our sharing the good news in word and deed.  This does not excuse intensionally doing wrong nor lull us into carelessness, instead of trying to do our best for God, but it puts in perspective what is truly important.  I think God was able to laugh with us that morning. 

By the way, if you find any typos in this blog, just laugh, and et me know so I can join in.

  Pastor Joe